Besa Llugiqi is a soprano from Kosovo, born in Prishtina in 1986. She studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Prishtina under Professor Ahmet Dërguti before pursuing a master’s degree at the Faculty of Music in Skopje, where she studied with Professor Maria Muratovska. Since 2012, she has worked with renowned opera singer Christina Anghelakova in Sofia. Llugiqi is also a soloist with the Kosovo Philharmonic.
She began her operatic career in 2011, making her debut as Liù in Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Tirana. Since then, she has performed on opera stages and at international festivals, taking on leading roles from the classical repertoire. These include Donna Elvira in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Mimì in his La Bohème, Lucia in Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, and Violetta Valéry in Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata.
In 2013, Llugiqi won the Grand Prix at the international Elena Nikolai opera singing competition in Bulgaria, earning recognition for the quality of her voice, musical sensitivity, and expressive performances.
In 2018, she made her debut at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk, Poland, singing the title role in Thaïs. The following year, she performed the role of Inès in Giacomo Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine, in a production presented in collaboration with Deutsche Oper Berlin and directed by Vera Nemirova. Her repertoire also includes Marguerite in Charles Gounod’s Faust.
Beyond opera, Llugiqi has enjoyed an active concert career as a soloist, performing major works for voice and orchestra, including César Franck’s Messe in A, Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, and Mozart’s Requiem. She has given concerts and recitals in cities across Europe and beyond, including London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Tokyo, Amsterdam, and Zagreb. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with internationally acclaimed conductors, directors, and musicians, establishing herself as a performer on both the opera and concert stages.